HEALTH

June 24, 2025

Sala Nazca, Madrid

The band that makes sad music for horny people. Health is an American industrial/noise rock band from Los Angeles. Formed in 2006, they have released five studio albums so far.

Their songs consist of a softness in vocals that blends with usually heavy music, a dystopian feel, and electronic elements.

They have also done music for movies and video games like Max Payne 3, Grand Theft Auto V, and Cyberpunk 2077.

Band members

Jake Duzsik – vocals, guitar
John Famiglietti – bass, electronic production, and software-based synthesizers
B.J. Miller – drums

The show took place in a small venue on a hot summer day in Madrid. I placed myself below the stage, and there were no barriers or anything.

We were melting, but luckily, near the stage, it was colder because they had fans and a cooling mist that sprayed the instruments to maintain them at a good temperature, and some of that benefited us as well.

There were no opening bands, so the show started at 9.00 pm, with the anime song: A Cruel Angel’s Thesis (Evangelion Finally) as an intro. Then the band approached the stage, Johnny, their bassist, came with a Kawaii cat-ear headband.

The first song was IDENTITY, which starts with iron-like metal noises, and everyone was vibing. They continued this great start with GOD BOTHERER.

It was the turn for a hit with CRACK METAL and one of my favorites: HATEFUL, with its trance-like beat, followed by the noise-instrumental ZOOTHORNS.

PSYCHONAUT and another one of my favorites, STONEFIST, with its line “love’s not in our hearts”, came next.

NEW COKE and another highlight of the night, FUTURE OF HELL.

The audience was so hyped up, so it was the perfect moment for the chilled DEMIGODS.

Then the song of the video game Cyberpunk 2077 soundtrack: MAJOR CRIMES, and the catchy UNLOVED.

Up next was Deftones’s cover, the lovely Be Quiet and Drive (Far Away) and ORDINARY LOSS.

As we were on the last part of the set, the melancholic but beautiful ASHAMED arrived.

From the Max Payne 3 video game soundtrack: TEARS.

The chaotic WE ARE WATER.

The last two tracks and my absolutely favorite Health’s songs: FEEL NOTHING and DSM‐V, both heavy and amazing, especially the last one, with all those industrial machine sounds played by Johnny, that sound so perfectly solid.

When they finished playing FEEL NOTHING, Jake said in perfect Spanish that the next song was the last and that they were not going back to do an encore like most of the bands do, since he thinks that’s funny. Then they proceeded to play DSM-V, and the show ended at 10.00 pm. They didn’t say goodbye or anything, but Johnny stage-dived into the crowd, and then he took pictures with all of us present there, and he was super nice.

The kings of cum metal did a kick-ass show, B.J. going hard on drums, Jake, and his calm and charming voice and powerful guitar and Johnny headbanging with his bass, electronic pedals, synths and all his electronic elements. A short but ideal set, yet a lot of songs, filled with great energy from the band and the audience.